It's a wedding not a war!
by SouthernEasterlywind
Summary: A medieval Chinese AU


_As a result of supporting Amon's failed revolution, Asami is betrothed to the Southern warrior to guarantee her father's loyalty to the new Emperor. Effectively a hostage Asami travels many miles away from the Capital to her new home the very edge of the Southern Water lands to meet her spouse and family. Hiroshi, injured and bitter is banished from the Capital. But despite the end of the rebellion all is not well in the four nations._

* * *

The slap of the water had become less unwelcoming on the fourth day of her travel South. Asami breathed deeply and resisted the urge to be ill again as the ship slipped steadily through the icy grey waters towards the Southern lands. She was standing alone on the deck of the _The Southern Light_ while all around her the water tribe sailors nosily went about their duties.

Travelling by ship was not her favourite method of transport. The first two days had her spinning side to side violently seasick. If asked what had been worse to suffer, either the banishment or the forced marriage to a Southerner, Asami would swear seasickness was it. Luckily Finna the water tribe servant assigned personally to care for her from her betrothed own household had foreseen this. The motherly servant had crushed herbs; ginger, mint into some brown tea like concoction to calm her stomach. Asami fought down cynicism that the seasickness was to weaken her resistance to her new home each time she drank the potent mixture. But the illness had passed and she was certain the nausea was only nerves and fear, so many miles away from her own home.

She shivered as a gust of wind picked up and instinctively as if Finna had read her mine she saw the water tribe servant approach her with a fur jerkin.

"Lady Asami." She said smiling, "I thought you might be cold since we are finally in Southern waters." She handed Asami the jacket to pull on over her red and black robes.

"Thank you Finna." Asami said and rubbed her hands briskly. Magically, Finna pulled out a pair of soft seal skin gloves.

"These were instructed by your betrothed to be bought along for you."

Asami thanked her again and pulled them on. They were finely made. It puzzled her that her betrothed would be so welcoming… after all Asami's father had deliberately targeted his forces against the Southern warriors in the rebellion. Something that Asami undoubtedly sensed was why Finna was on board to oversee her trip. Despite Finna's warm maternal manner Asami had not overlooked the silent icy blue stares from the crew. Asami and Finna turned as they heard the Captain shout out a loud urgent order. Immediately a group of men turned to the mast as one.

"Perhaps we should return under deck Lady Asami." Finna suggested. The ship began to turn as the sailors tried to seek the newest gale to speed their journey home. Asami nodded silently and followed the older woman to the cabins below deck.

"How long until we reach the Southern port?"

"About a day and a half Lady Asami, the wind seems to be on our side. Thank the spirits."

That night in her cabin she tried to fall asleep despite the blistering howl she could hear above deck. Closing her eyes she tried to imagine home and the last sight of her beloved lands she had seen before she had been taken by carriage along the royal highway. Asami had not been given time to pack, in case there was any resistance from her father's men. She had been called into the hall to see the Knight advisor, Lord Tenzin seated where her father rightfully should sit as Lord of the manor. He was there to enact the Emperor's justice as the Emperor's Minister. Hiroshi, tired, injured and defeated was able to make no objections, as his eldest and only heir was to marry a Southern warrior. She saw in Tenzin's blue eyes that this was shrewd move. After all Hiroshi's lands were the most valuable in the land and provided abundant resources to build his genius creations. Hiroshi was also only one of three houses who could actively recruit enough soldiers to another uprising if he was no so broken as he was now. The Sato combination of his technology and weapon created an insatiable lust for higher offices in her father, she knew what he wanted and she knew this was what Amon had exploited. Amon had promised that he would be his new Chancellor, effectively second to the Emperor in control of the nation's wealth. But Amon was dead. His soldiers hung or imprisoned and all the houses that had supported the uprising found themselves either taxed to poverty or suddenly submitting to other loyal houses. Dozens of heirs fostered to other Lords and Ladies as wards or squires as the new Emperor moved fast to consolidate his power. Asami watched as Hiroshi gritted his teeth and the white lotus guards escorted her to her room. Her servants and staff would join her later but other than a simple travelling trunk Asami had bought nothing of value besides the delicate jade hair comb belonging to her mother and her father's watery and painful goodbye. A sickening creak above her ceiling shook her from her thoughts and Asami heart thumped as she turned on her side and shut her eyes tightly. She had not cried when Tenzin had led her away from her father, neither did she cry when she boarded the ship. But now only a day away from her destination she left a few hot tears slip gently down her face and into the furs.

* * *

 _In the Southern water lands. Two weeks ago._

"Warrior Korra?"

"Korra?"

"KORRA!"

Lightening blue eyes blinked awake in a flash and a hand immediately shot back up to the scroll that the Southerner had momentarily fallen asleep on. "Yep! Yep! Just doing schedules. Like you said." Korra frantically began writing a line of nonsensical characters. She knew she wasn't fooling Tenzin who was eyeing the thin line of drool connecting her mouth to a wet patch on the corner of the scroll. Tenzin sighed heavily and shut the door behind him as Korra tossed the brush down and sat up properly stretching and groaning from her slouched position on the desk.

"This is boring Tenzin, can't you just have Kai to do it?" She complained turning to her Knight Master as he entered the study room treading carefully around open books. "It's Harvesting season, I want to be out with my people." Earlier that morning Korra had been ordered to copy out the castle's financial upkeep for the forthcoming year in the study. She had not entered this room since her departure to the war. In her absence the study had gathered dust and acted as an extra storage room for books when the library was turned into a war room. Upon her return she felt she deserved a rest from the tortures of writing. Until Tenzin had arrived on his sky bison only two days before and immediately set to work to continue her disrupted education. While she was always happy to see her old Knight Master there were considerable downsides to his visits. She had been stuck for two days within the gates of her home firstly learning how to prepare for a state banquet, then proper coronation etiquette and finally financial and legal land and property something or another. All Korra had understood was that she was now in charge of quite a lot of tigerseals and hunting grounds for fresh fish as Warrior Commander in the South. Her father, the Chief, and her Lady mother had made no objections to Tenzin's crash course on royal manners despite her protests.

"What even if this for?" She prodded the scroll as Tenzin shifted a few books out of the way to find a seat underneath the confusion of texts. "I don't need to learn this business. Not for a few years yet." She smirked. Tenzin was busy ignoring her and she knew from experience that he would tell her when he was ready.

"Actually." Tenzin muttered as he cleared a seat of old recipe books for cactus juice, "this may come in use sooner rather than later."

Korra's eyebrow perked up. "My Chiefly father of the Southern Water Lands, is still very much alive Tenzin…" She teased using her father's full title.

"Yes. However once married you will be expected to oversee your own lands."

Korra swung her feet up on the desk. "I know we've been away for a while but Mako and I are friends now and I'm quite enjoying being single-"

"Yes. Yes. Yes. I know." Tenzin interrupted and coughed, eager to avoid hearing about his former squire's love life. "However." He pulled a serious face. "The Emperor has requested that you be betrothed to Lord Sato's only daughter, the Lady Asami."

Korra blinked and paused. "Excuse me?" She said. She pulled on her ear. She had taken a blow to the head early on the in the war. It sometimes meant she heard a weird ringing noise every now and then.

"Lady Sato is Lord Sato's only heir you, as her spouse you will be the direct inheritor of the Sato lands in the North of the Capital. You will need to understand how to maintain the lands under your jurisdiction. Hence," he pointed at the scrolls, "financial and legal study of the law."

Korra titled her head. "I'm pretty certain I heard 'betrothed' a second ago Tenzin?"

"Yes. A marriage with Lady Sato will require the land keeping of over 700 acres -"

"Tenzin." She interrupted frowning. "You can't be serious."

"The Emperor has requested me to ask you."

"Well he can ask. I'm not doing it."

"He thought you may say that."

"I'm not marrying Hiroshi Sato's heir." Korra said a little more forcefully than she intended to. The ringing in her ears had stopped to be replaced by a low angry hum. "He attacked my men after the truce, because _he could!_ ". She slammed a fist down on the desk. "A coward! A betrayer! I won't be related to his house!" Tenzin remained impassive as she glared icy daggers towards him.

"Then the Emperor commands you to."

"The Emperor can get -"

Tenzin immediately broke in "Korra. Your first duty is to your Emperor but your most important duty is peace for your people. Please think about what I have to say. Hiroshi Sato is more valuable alive than dead, his lands and his men are fiercely loyal to his house. He could easily recruit soldiers for another uprising if he wanted to he was certainly rich enough. And I suspect he still is despite what the Treasury has found... We have suffered a war. A war that is on the brink of one still. And finally now the chance to stop the future crisis if you would marry and do your duty to not only rule but guard the Sato estate we can truly move to a more peaceful time." Tenzin got up and crossed to the study's window. He motioned for Korra to follow him. "Look outside, finally a good harvest, a season of hope and change, families rebuilding. Peace is slow. Forgiveness even slower but war and death is always an instance away." His elderly gaze begged for Korra to understand.

Outside Korra and Tenzin watched the autumn sunshine as carts of grain travelled upwards to the castle's cellar to be stored for the winter months. There were no soldiers, only the town guard keeping watch. Children were running around in the castle courtyard below them. Korra thought of her soldiers, the men and women eager to return home that night by the fire for their simple meal of salt fish and stew. But deep inside a hatred still stewed within her soul. Had Tenzin not remembered the buried warriors? The incense pots had barely been swept before he was proposing something she could not even bare to think about.

"I see you need time." Tenzin's robes brushed softly against his tall form despite his height Korra sensed a tiredness in him she had not felt before. Sometimes Korra forgot how old he was. Tenzin turned and pointed to the window. "Come to me when you have an answer" With that he gathered his crimson cloak and walked out of the study.

* * *

Later that evening she knocked on Tenzin's private room where he was staying in the Guest wing of the castle. Tenzin welcomed her in and she smiled as she saw Tenzin's wife, Lady Pema trying to rise from her seat near the fire. Heavily pregnant she had been confined for a while indoors for the last term by the Chief Healer. Begging her to not stand Korra pulled a seat by the fire where Tenzin and Pema had been relaxing. Tenzin grimaced when she revealed a bottle of spirit she had "acquired" from the castle's cellar. "Please Tenzin. I am going to be married, I believe it deserves a drink."

"I understand what you were trying to tell me. I am sorry I shouted at you Tenzin." She said as they swallowed their colourless liquor.

Tenzin nodded and looked at her sadly. "Often war is not where the anger lays. It is in living with our emotions after it."

"I accept the betrothal but my people will not like it."

"That is to be expected."

Korra sighed and downed her drink. "Let's hope she doesn't feel that same."


End file.
